This is a story of support during depression with a little WoW twist thrown in.

As you may be aware I spoke a lot about depression, mine and my family’s back in Movember. I mentioned then that it can be a long hard journey and it is.

Saturday afternoon I was alerted by the police to my ex-wife’s latest suicide intentions. She had made it public via Facebook and the level of support and concern from her friends was astounding, with those that know her boyfriend or I, contacting us and those that don’t contacting the police who then contacted me.

Truly it was a wonderful thing to see so many people going to such lengths to save her life.

My evening was spent fielding Facebook enquiries and phone calls from friends and international family.

Remember, no matter how dark it gets, no matter how alone you feel, you are not alone, you are loved by all the people whose lives you have touched.

We will not be better of without my ex-wife, we will not be better off without YOU.

Me on the otherhand…

Well there is a WoW argument for being better off without me...

I joked during our Lich King attempts that they were better off with a dead gnome than none at all, but Saturday night (while letting off some tension in the Arenas) it was proved that my 3v3 team really is better off without me.

We signed up for an Arena…

We buffed up for the Arena…

Just as the gates were about to open…

The phone rang…

My (ex) sister-in-law from Canada…

Three words from me…

Phone, gotta go

And my (incredibly understanding and supportive – and that’s just because I play fire in arenas) arena teammates wished me all the best and headed off to battle.

Phone call over I return to my celebrating mates.

They got beaten in that fight, the opponent’s warrior survived them.

But, laughing away in their ghost form, they watched the warrior dancing around the arena, covered in shadow priest dots, wondering why the battle hadn’t ended.

Well, he wasn’t the last surviving combatant was he…

I was!

Imagine his thought process as his life was stolen as this Gnome Mage sat AFK in the starting alcove.

Thanks to everyone: bloggers; readers; friends; family; guildies; workmates (including management that have given me the nod to be where I need to be when I need to be – it’s worth being vocal about life and death matters) and neighbors for all your support.

He ran around in circles, unable to remove the dots, doomed to his fate.

Me, I think I was outside on the phone, with no idea any of this was happening. My mates, just gave it a go and got 2.9 of them down before both dying… but the arena didn’t end as expected, because I was still alive.

If the warrior had a little more heath and survived, he could have tracked me down and slaughtered me without response.

I could beat those 3 guys with both hand tied behind my back from out in the back yard, without lifting a finger…

Ahhh the Arcane Arts are a mystery to Man and Gnome alike.

Yes the response was really amazing, both to the immediate emergency, and then following up over the next couple of days.

As for my workplace… 2 senior managers took me aside (separately) and assured me that although I am currently “key man risK” on my project, the project could go to buggery if I needed to walk out the door.

I am so glad she is okay, I’ve battled depression for the better part of my life. It can be a huge hill to climb, friends there to help are just like ladders. Good on you for getting that sorted.

And that arena match, TOO funny. That warrior was lucky you were afk, he only died. Your fireballs would have roasted and cooked him extra well and he literally fall over at his keyboard from a heart attack when he seen the HUGE crits that small gnome dished out.

She has checked herself into a hospital and is determined to get better. I think, hope, that this is the turning point. Often there has to be some “eureka moment”, before you can start on the road to recovery.

As for the Arena fight, I’m glad I wasn’t there to steal the victory from my friends. Them missing an AFK Gnome is a kick in the teeth for them, but me emerging at the last moment would have cheapened my mates efforts. The two of them kill 3 opponents… They just needed a little time extension (provided by me) to get there.